Record breaker: North Yorkshire 23-year-old becomes first woman to swim the full length of Britain
A 23-year-old woman from Thirsk in North Yorkshire survived being followed by a shark, stung by jellyfish and painful 'salt mouth' (a condition which strips skin from the tongue and throat and makes it hard to swallow) to become the first woman to swim the full length of Britain.
Jasmine Harrison took on the 900-mile swim from Land’s End up to John O’Groats - first getting in the sea at Land’s End in western Cornwall on Friday 1 July and finishing in Scotland on Tuesday 18 October, where she was greeted on shore by her parents - and dog Bonnie.
Most of the swimming was done in two shifts, for up to 4 to 12 hours a day.
In between, she would eat and sleep in her support boat.
In total , 110 days were spent swimming, and those days not in the water were spent waiting for bad weather to pass, or looking after the boat.
The whole challenge was the same as swimming 58,000 lengths of a 25m pool!
Jasmine chose to take on the challenge to raise money and awareness for environmental charities.
She said: “From the moment I first dived into the water to finally reaching dry land again, this has been a truly epic experience. From all the jellyfish to the constant cold and chafing from my wetsuit, it’s been really tough, but at the time it was also incredibly rewarding.
“From the beautiful wildlife I’ve seen to the litter I’ve sadly encountered, this has given me a greater appreciation of how beautiful but fragile our marine ecosystem really is."
She says she is now ready to relax, get a "good night's sleep" and spend some time with her dog before looking forward to sharing her story to inspire others.
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